Copper underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in May and needed to acclimate herself to a new-look Mercury roster. Phoenix will host the Liberty in a decisive Game 3 Friday night.

The Phoenix Mercury began playing in 1997, and over the years, they had good wins over another team whose origins date back to that year.

Mercury's Kahleah Copper claimed after Game 2 vs. the Liberty that the crowd at the Barclays Center was shockingly quiet.

Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas each scored 15 points to help the Phoenix Mercury beat the New York Liberty 86-60 in Game 2 on Wednesday night

Phoenix now has their first playoff win since 2021. The Mercury reached the WNBA Finals that year, and they won Game 2 before losing the next two games. The Chicago Sky won the championship that year, aas they won the series 3-1. The year after that, Phoenix was swept by the Las Vegas Aces.

The Mercury beat the Liberty by 26 points to force a Game 3 — the largest margin of victory by a WNBA team facing playoff elimination.

Nate Tibbetts and the Mercury have a new day mentality, in part due to Satou Sabally's approach after shooting 2-17 in Game 1.

Alyssa Thomas has been of the WNBA's top players, and when the Phoenix Mercury faced the Minnesota Lynx, she had strong performances.